Your current location

Research

Bristol Law School is one of the top-rated ‘post 1992’ law
departments in the country, scoring consistently high ratings in
the official research assessment exercises. This reflects the fact
that legal research provides a central focus for the work of the
Law School, and that many staff are engaged in research of national
and international significance which has a positive, practical
impact on fairness, justice and respect for the rule of law.

The Law School also places emphasis on nurturing new career
researchers, investing in providing an environment in which they
can flourish, and on using research to enrich the learning
experience of students.

The major research interests of the Law School lie in the fields
of commercial law, international finance and trade, virtual
financial crime and cybercrime, the financing and policing of
terrorism, the protection of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers,
access to justice, fair trial rights, criminal procedure, sexual
violence and offending, child rights and protection, environmental
governance, protection and sustainability, collective security, and
gender and sexuality.

Research funding

Research carried out by Law School staff is funded by a wide
range of organisations, including the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, the European Commission, major non-governmental
organisations such as the Open Society Justice Initiative and
DEJUSTICIA, the College of Policing and a range of UK police
forces, the British Academy, the European Institute for Gender
Equality, and national and international business corporations.

Centre for Applied Legal Research

In addition, staff research activities are supported by major
internal investment. Research activity in the Law School is carried
out within the Centre for Applied Legal Research, which is led
by Professor Phil Rumney.

Publications

Bristol Law School staff write or
contribute to a wide range of books, journal articles and other
publications, which can be found either by looking at the web pages
of individual staff members or by
searching the UWE
Bristol Research Repository.

Recent praise for law
research

'An excellent contribution to the field of international
humanitarian law.' Karen Hulme, University of Essex, in her review
of Environmental protection, security and armed conflict: A
sustainable development perspective (Onita
Das), which was nominated for the prestigious Lieber Prize in
2014.

'This ground-breaking study is the first piece of comparative
research to look at what actually happens in the process of police
detention and interrogation in different jurisdictions, and to
assess the differences in practice. Its findings will make
essential reading and inform legislation at both EU and national
level.’ Caroline Morgan, European Commission, on Inside Police
Custody: An Empirical Account of Suspects’ Rights in Four
Jurisdictions (Ed
Cape).

'Full of fascinating insights into what lies behind cases and
what have been their practical results. There are many lessons to
be learnt for the future development of the law.’ Lord Carnwath of
Notting Hill, Supreme Court Justice, in his foreword to
Nuisance law and environmental protection: A study of nuisance
injunctions in practice (Ben
Pontin).

On
Phil Rumney’s Torturing Terrorists: Exploring the limits of
law, human rights and academic freedom:
'It is an unfortunate truth that the issue of torture continues to
be a matter of debate, particularly in regard to "wars on terror"
and, therefore, terrorists. The strength of Professor Rumney’s
valuable book lies not only in the insight of a sharp critical
intelligence, but also in his skill at presenting and assessing
such empirical information that is relevant to considering the
claims about the actual consequences of resorting to torture as a
matter of public policy. It would make a wonderful assignment in
any course on the subject, though it should also be read and
discussed by policymakers as well who may be tempted to believe
that "torture works."’ - Sanford Levinson, W. St. John Garwood and
W. St. John Garwood Jr., Centennial Chair and Professor of
Government, University of Texas, Austin, USA

'There is a general consensus in the public debate that the state
should never use torture as a means of interrogating terrorists and
that the use of torture as a tool of interrogation is so clearly
contrary to democratic values that even the discussion of his topic
has become virtually taboo. Phil Rumney, in this courageous and
path-breaking study, challenges the view that the issues
surrounding the use of torture have been finally settled and cannot
be discussed. Instead, he makes a compelling case that without
confronting the moral dilemmas presented by the use of torture in
the face of the threats posed by international terrorism the
absolute prohibition of the use of torture may not be sustainable.
This book makes an invaluable and original contribution to a
controversial, but important public debate.’ - Christoph Bluth,
Professor of International Relations and Security, University of
Bradford, UK

Additional research activities

In addition to publications, Bristol Law School staff are
engaged in many other research activities including organising and
collaborating in research networks, organising and presenting
papers at national and international conferences, editing legal
journals, acting as research consultants, and contributing to
learned societies and professional associations.

The Law School hosted and organised the Socio-legal Studies
Association annual conference in 2010, and in 2013 organised the
first Virtual World Conference on Banking and Finance
which was delivered via the ‘Second Life’ platform.